A Third Shepherd
by Claykalin
Summary: Blaise returns to Milan for Christmas with his family, and attends the Zabini Carols. He plans to be asleep by sunset, but something happens and Pino has a brilliant back-up plan, much to Adelina's delight


**Un Terzo Pastore**

**_A/N: _**_Hello! This one shot is written for day nine of the Countdown to Christmas Drabble / Oneshot Competition (link can be found in my bio)_

_Prompt: The Nativity_

_**Disclaimer:**_ _I do not own any rights to the Harry Potter series nor am I making any money from writing this, just having a lot of fun!_

_This is supposed to be based in Milan, Italy, but some of the little things in here are based off of my own experiences as a kid in Australia. __Enjoy!_

…

"Blaise, Blaise, help!"

Giuseppe Zabini ran up to him, eyes wide and on the verge of tears,although he didn't look _upset_, more like stressed. He was already dressed up as a shepherd; his grandmother would have sewn the brown tunic and white belt herself, not to mention crafted the sandals with leather and hessian string, and he carried a crooked walking stick that was taller than he was.

"What is it, Pino?" Blaise stood up, he'd been lounging on his camp chair and watching the primary school teachers (some of whom he remembered and had said hello to) as they set up the stage area and marked the areas of where people could set up their chairs and blankets with red and green tinsel.

"It's Nico! Nicodemo Zabini?" Blaise, who'd been standing protectively around the boy because he thought seventeen other kids were about to appear chasing after him, recoiled instantly. He knew that brat; he liked to go around the neighbourhood filling people mailboxes with crup poop and painting flowers green. "He tripped on the stairs and now his mama says he can't do the nativity! Signorina Alfreda has asked for us to find someone else to take his part!"

_Oh please don't go where I think you're going_.

"Can you do it, Blaise? Please!"

"I'm too old to do it," he said. He was twelve, but the nativity was traditionally performed by the primary school students.

"Signorina Alfreda doesn't care! She just said to find someone! You _have _to Blaise! Please?"

So twenty minutes later Blaise found himself standing still with his arms spread out whilst three Zabini nonnas fussed over him and made him a new costume since Nico's was too small for him.

"All you have to do is lead the other two boys," Signorina Alfreda told him. "You know Pino, and this is Tore."

Tore, most likely Salvatore, stood beside Pino in a similar brown tunic, although his belt was a simple rope. He looked nervous, and Blaise could see why; he had blonde hair. He was half-Cornelii or a quarter; and either way he would never be quite welcome amongst Zabini events like tonight's Carols.

That and was no doubt afraid of the tall, dark skinned Blaise. Blaise took most of his looks from his French father, whilst most Italian witches and wizards still had the olive skin tone. And Tore here still had very pale skin that would darken as he grew.

"Hi," Blaise said, nodding to the new child.

"Good afternoon," he said. His eyes flickered to his teacher's and back.

Laughter erupted from behind Blaise, and he turned to find Lina Palladino kneeling on the ground.

"I can't believe you're _actually _doing it!" Lina was Pino's older sister, and a primary school friend of Blaise's. They still owled each other on a weekly basis. "Oh, I need to find my camera!" she exclaimed, and with that she scrambled to her feet and ran off.

Kids and teenagers of various ages sung Christmas Carols through the afternoon, and once the sun set the candles along the paths were lit and the stage began to glow as the nativity began.

Blaise took his cue, Signorino Vito waving his arms like he was on fire and mutely shouting at Blaise and pointing and giving a thumbs up and _honestly_ he was not as organised at Signorina Alfreda, who'd been marching around with a clip board making sure all the carol groups were sitting in order ("_Where's Tullio's class? Why are you all over there? You're next, get up_!" and staying quiet ("_the people on stage sat quietly for your performance, now you can do the same_.")

He led the two boys up one of the rows amongst the audience, and saw his sister Adelina cackling madly as she took photos of him. When a small girl dressed as a star appeared at the top of the stage, Blaise pointed and looked over his shoulder, and the two boys started clapping and jumping before they set out at a faster pace towards the stage.

…

"Never again," he told his mother later that night.

"Why? It was adorable," Siena smiled as she glanced at the seventeen photos Adelina had left on the kitchen bench, some were hers and others were the ones Lina had dropped off. Lina's were blurry, no doubt due to her laughing at him the entire time.

"Mama, it's for _kids_, and I already did it once!"

"But you were a sheep then; I couldn't see your pretty face."

"Adelina never had to do it," Blaise pouted.

"We'd already moved to England by then," she reminded him.

"What a tragedy," Adelina laughed as she walked in. "I'm so sad I never got to dress up as the Star of David or _La Madonna_."

"I can ask them to include you next year," Siena said, suddenly thoughtful. "I'm sure they'd love for you to be a part of it."

"Mama, no!"

"No, no, I've got this," Siena left her dumbstruck children and headed straight to the spare room where the writing equipment and owls lived. Her kids heard her scoff before she came out and grabbed a coat off the wall. "I'm going to your Zia Alfreda's house, I'm sure she'd be happy to keep you in mind for next year, Adelina!"

"_Mama, no_!" Adelina grabbed her own coat as she rushed out after her mother, she didn't even notice Blaise fall off his chair in laughter.

…

**_A/N: _**_Sorry if that was confusing, I have a big Italian Wizarding Community headcanon that I like to use :)_

_Lina and Pino have the same parents but their mother is a Palladino and their father is a Zabini. When this happens, the kids pick which family they want to be a part of at their primary school graduation ceremony and until then will often use the father's surname._

_The third family is Cornelii - Salvatore's father is Cornelii but he's young enough to not have chosen Zabini or Cornelii, and as a half-Zabini he gets to take part in the carols_

_Un Terzo Pastore: A Third Shepherd_

__Nonna(s): grandmother(s)__

_La Madonna: Literally "the woman", but in capitals it refers to the Virgin Mary_

_Zia Alfreda: Aunty Alfreda. Adelina's father is different to Blaise's, so Alfreda is only Adelina's aunty_

_Hope you liked it! Drop a review and let me know what you think! Have a nice day!_


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